The Latest Challenge...

News of the latest misfortune to hit the Catholic Church here got me pondering What It All Means. There are a bunch of stock answers that one could use, but the one I received was a bit different, particularly for me.

Certainly it is disappointing to have aspersions cast upon bishops, priests, indeed, any member of the Church, especially when they are true. It can certainly be a test of one's faith. Indeed, there are reports of people ending their participation in Church because of these events. That, in itself, is an old story.

I realized something, and I don't think it was a rationalization. If the allegations are true (which I hope they aren't), then the bishop will have let his flock down in a monumental way. But, even if this is the case, it will in no way affect our ability to worship God at Mass. This is the fact that struck me clearly during this past week.

Over the years, I had an image of priests, nuns, bishops, and the Pope as somehow better, stronger, smarter, etc. than I. This was especially true during the reign of Pope John Paul II. Look at his life! Faith, courage, intelligence, and many other virtues personified. A few years ago, I came to a heartfelt realization that we are all weak, though. As my pastor once put it, "Sure, John Paul II is great; but compared to God, he's an ant." So it is with me, and I began to give everybody else a break.

Ralph Martin said that, culturally, Catholics tend to "pass the buck" to those who are (or should be) "holier", such as priests, nuns, etc. and do not do the work of holiness that they are called to do themselves. We tend to want holiness vicariously through people like our bishops and priests. Maybe that's why people stop going to Church when they feel (and, at times, are) let down by them.

This tendency toward vicarious holiness does have a legitimate aspect, however, when it is applied to the suffering and death of Jesus. He paid the price for our sins so that we pay the price for our sins vicariously through Him.

Jesus is One Who will never let us down. "Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ," St Paul tells us. Nobody, except ourselves.

This is the aspect of the Church that the world (and a lot of us, its members) don't get: that the Church is ALL about Jesus, and somewhat about us. Not that we don't count or are worthless; indeed, Jesus entrusted His mission to the Church. But in comparison to God, we aren't all that wonderful. He is the Giver of all good gifts; we are recipients. We can offer ourselves, along with Jesus, to the Father, in worshipping Him in Spirit and truth, but none of us can ever supplant the goodness of God. Instead, we can become instruments of that Goodness. And, we can offer thanksgiving for that Goodness that we ourselves cannot manufacture or originate.

We succeed to the extent that we submit ourselves to the love of God and take that Love and give it to others. If our actions are missing this element, then they are practically meaningless.

Perhaps misfortunes like the one we're seeing now are meant to remind us about Who we can truly trust, and Who will never let us down?